Ye generals all and champions bold,
That take delight in the field,
That knock down palaces and castle walls,
But now to death must yield;
We must go and face that daring foe,
But without sword and without shield,
I often fought with my merry men,
But now to death must yield.

I am an Englishman by birth,
Lord Marlborough is my name,
And I was brought up in London town,
That place of noted fame;
I was beloved by all my men,
By King and Prince likewise,
Though many towns I often took,
I did the world surprise.

King Charles the Second I did serve,
To face our foes in France,
And at the battle of Ramilies,
We boldly did advance;
The sun was down,the earth did quake
So loudly I did cry-
"Fight on, my boys, for old England's sake, we'll conquer or we'll die"

And when we gained the victory,
And bravely kept the field,
We took great numbers of prisoners,
And forced them all to yield,
That very day my horse got shot,
Twas by a musket ball,
As I was mounting up again,
My aide-de-camp did fall.

Now I on a bed of sickness lie,
I am resigned to die;
You generals and champions bold,
Stand true as well as I;
Take no bribes, stand true to your men,
And fight with courage bold,
I led my men through fire and smoke,
But ne'er was bribed with gold.

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.
Painted by Adriaen van der Werff.

Coat of arms of the Dukes of Marlborough, bearing the family motto: "Faithful but unfortunate..."